Liberty get another chance to clinch WNBA Finals berth after Game 3 unraveling

They certainly wouldn’t be the first to visit Las Vegas and lose their poise.

But for the first time this postseason, the Liberty were rattled.

They couldn’t stop the Aces on defense.

They couldn’t find a bucket on offense, no matter where they went.

They looked lost, unable to collect themselves.

And the raucous crowd inside Michelob ULTRA Arena went wild.

Despite going into halftime trailing just 52-49, the Liberty allowed the Aces to go on a 16-0 run in the third quarter en route to their 95-81 win Friday night to stave off elimination in Game 3 of their best-of-five series.

After cruising through the first two games at home at Barclays Center, the Liberty unraveled in Las Vegas.

“Obviously, playing on your home court is a little bit different,” Liberty star Breanna Stewart said after the game. “You build confidence behind that, Vegas did that. We got a little bit sped up offensively. Whether they score or not, it’s fine, but we have to also get a score. It was 52-49 at half, and then a 16-0 run is ridiculous.”

The Liberty owned a 16-4 record at home during the regular season, equal with their 16-4 record on the road.

The Aces were actually slightly better on the road during the regular season, owning a 14-6 record compared to a 13-7 record at home.

But their home-court advantage Friday night was glaring.

Once the Aces grabbed momentum in the third quarter, the Liberty spiraled.

And they couldn’t compose themselves.

They shot just 38.8 percent from the field in the loss, by far their worst of the postseason.

During the first two games, which they won by a combined 14 points, the Liberty shot a combined 49.6 percent from the field.

“They brought the physicality,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said. “They were intentional in how they wanted to play. There was a little less separation. It was like they were more connected than they were in those other games. That’s gonna happen.

“They saw success and then it gave them more energy. We kind of got away from what worked for us. We got sped up on offense, we didn’t move it, we didn’t set screens, we didn’t roll hard. All the little things that we know we’re capable of, we didn’t [do]. In that third quarter in particular, we couldn’t make shots and we made poor decisions and they made runs.”

The Aces shot 52.1 percent from the field, by far their highest of the postseason so far.

They made 13 3-pointers, their most of the postseason.

They looked like the two-time defending champions and finally started acting like it.

As the crowd grew into the game, so did the Aces.

“Defensively, we weren’t where we needed to be,” Stewart said. “They were playing in so much space. They already hit however many 3s in the first half. When they had the space to take even more, they were confident in that.”

Friday’s loss marked the Liberty’s first of the postseason.

And for the first time this postseason as well, the Aces were facing elimination.

It showed.

Game 4 will be in Las Vegas.

If needed, Game 5 will be back at Barclays Center, as the Liberty are the higher seed.

“You’re trying to finish a team’s season,” Stewart said. “To continue to keep going and know that they’re gonna throw everything at you — they’re gonna be aggressive, they’re gonna use their fans, they’re gonna use the momentum behind it. We just didn’t come ready for all that. We didn’t come and embrace the hard things. This s–t isn’t easy, we saw that tonight.

“Teams are most dangerous when their backs are up against the wall. They’re gonna throw everything at you. They came out and did what they were supposed to do tonight.”